Let It Be Me

6

"Tangina!" 

Mikaela's voice boomed through the quiet hallways of St. Mark's University. It has been a month since she graduated and a month before she was supposed to start college to pursue her dream of being a doctor. However, there has been a slight change of plans. 

Mikaela sent a quick 'Busy ka?' message before walking to her car. It did not take long before she received a call, which she quickly answered.

"I'm just working out at home. Everything okay?"

"Can I come over?"

"Sure."

Mikaela ended the call before getting into her car. She took one last look at SMU before driving away. Drowned by her thoughts, the supposedly 12 minute drive was cut to 7 minutes. She parked her car and rang the doorbell, but went inside using her spare key anyway.  She was greeted by a sweaty Gino who was halfway down the stairs.

"Mikay, there's no point in ringing the doorbell if you're gonna use your key din naman." Gino lived alone since his parents stayed in Canada. Since Mikaela was his closest friend, he decided to give her the spare key to his house.He kissed her cheek before taking her backpack to carry it for her. "Himala ang gaan nito ngayon ah. Iniwan mo na books mo sa locker?"

When Gino faced Mikaela, he was alarmed when her eyes started watering. He pulled her to his room and sat her down on his bed. When Gino shut the door, Mikaela's eyes started pouring. Her fists were clenched, but her eyes screamed pain more than anger. 

"Mikay what happened?" Gino.

"I'm, I'm not going to college anymore." Mikaela.

Gino was taken aback by her reply. They have been planning and preparing for college for months since they are going into the same field. They have agreed to be each other's support and strength, since they both had a long journey ahead. 

"Kuya Mickey got into deep shit again. Ipinangpusta yung pangtuition ko sana. Eh ayun, talo si tanga, tapos ako yung nganga." Mikaela. 

Mickey, Mikaela's brother, started gambling when he met his girlfriend. She was not the best influence to Mickey, and their whole family never really liked her. Mikaela's parents tried their best, but since their son was a grown man, they could only do so much. Their son's vices took a toll on the couple's savings, and even on Richard's and Maine's. 

"How did he have access to the money anyway?" Gino.

"Mom gave me the cash yesterday, kasi nga I was gonna pay na today. I kept it in an envelope in my closet kaso pag gising ko, wala na. Kuya Mickey confessed din right away, naguilty rin naman ang gago." Mikaela is usually sweet and respectful towards all her siblings, but Mickey really fucked it up this time. Mikaela went on and explained how sorry her parents were. They couldn't do anything since the money for Mikaela's tuition was all they had left, after Mickey's addiction has drained them financially (and emotionally). The Manuel's used to be wealthy and well off, but Mickey's vices had cost them millions in such little time.

Gino hugged Mikaela as she went on and cried even more. He knew how much she wanted to go to college. He would always tease her about being a nerd since there wasn't day where she didn't talk about her dream of being a doctor. She would always say that they were so close to achieving their dreams, and how happy she was that they were going through that journey together. 

After about an hour of crying, Mikaela wiped her tears (and her snot) and stood up in front of Gino. She pointed her finger at his face, almost touching the tip of his nose.

"Ikaw ha, tuloy mo yung dreams nating dalawa! Don't worry, I'll still be your rock. I'll support you every step of the way pa din, kaso from afar nga lang." Mikaela let out a bitter chuckle.

Gino took Mikaela's finger from his nose before locking their fingers together.  

"You'll still become a doctor no! This is just a bump in the road, nagdetour lang kaya nadelay ng slight. I'm still expecting an MD at the end of your name no!" Gino. "God has a plan Mikay. He knows what he's doing, just trust Him ha?" Gino stood up and kissed the top of Mikaela's head. Mikaela gave him a smile as he wiped the final tears that escaped from her eyes. 

Gino volunteered to cook dinner for Mikaela. As he was pacing back and forth in his kitchen, Mikaela watched him while snacking on some V-Cut that she found in his kitchen pantry. She smiled and silently thanked God for giving her someone like Gino, who always sees the brighter side of every situation, who always knows what to say, and who gives the best hugs when words can no longer help. She held her necklace that Gino gave her for her birthday. Her dreams may seem farther away now, but she still had her angel here on Earth, and she knew that with him, and Him, everything was going to be okay.

•••

When Mikaela got home, she was greeted by her Kuya Miguel who was sitting down on her bed. 

"Ang tagal mo naman umuwi Bebe. Kanina pa ko nagiintay!" Miguel.

"Well how was I supposed to know na you were waiting for me pala!" Mikaela. She sat beside her Kuya Miguel and leaned on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry Be. Di ka naipagtanggol ni Kuya dun sa panget mong Kuya."

Mikaela squeezed her Kuya's hand, letting him know that it was okay and that it wasn't his fault.

"Okay lang yun Kuya! Di mo naman ako kailangan ipagtanggol no. I'm a strong independent woman kaya!"

"You're still my baby sister. Kahit gaano ka pa katanda, I will always try to protect and defend you. And what do you mean independent? What part of your friendship with Gino makes you independent? Or your friendship with Patrick? Bebe, you're everything BUT independent."

Mikaela smiled and agreed with her Kuya Miguel, who kissed her forehead before leaving her room to let her rest. 

Mikaela got ready for bed, but she was still wide awake hours after her talk with Miguel. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Patrick after her Kuya mentioned him. Patrick has been MIA since their FaceTime call after Mikaela's graduation. Mikaela tried to message him a couple of times, but she never got a reply. Their friends haven't heard from him either after that night. Mikaela knew that he was busy in Cali so she decided to keep all her problems to herself ever since he got there. She knew that he already had too much going on and didn't want to add to his burdens. She missed her Trick, but she understood that family always comes first. She was just grateful that Gino was there for her for without him, she probably would have gone out of her mind already. Although Gino was not a replacement for Patrick in her life, her feelings for Patrick seemed to have faded, and new possibilities with Gino have taken over.